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The view down the Slad valley towards Stroud from the top of Swift's Hill

Heather from United Kingdom, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Laurie Lee Wildlife Way

A 5-mile (8.4km) circular walk from Bulls Cross round the Slad valley, moderate with steep climbs and three to five hours with stops: Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust's loop by Longridge Wood, Snows Farm, Catswood and Swift's Hill, with ten posts carrying Laurie Lee's poems.

Distance
8.4 km (5.2 mi)
Difficulty
Moderate
Time
2 hrs, 45 mins
Ascent
327 m
Circular
Circular

The route

Starts at Bulls Cross, on the B4070 above Slad follows the Laurie Lee Wildlife Way for a while Steep sectionMuddy in winterLivestock in fieldsRoad walking Download GPX

Map of The Laurie Lee Wildlife Way: the route drawn around its start
© OpenStreetMap contributors

Elevation Highest 217 m, lowest 96 m, climb about 327 m

The Laurie Lee Wildlife Way

Step by step

  1. A wide field with Stroud's houses and wooded hills in the distance

    Step 1: Bulls Cross to Snows Farm

    From the layby opposite the Bulls Cross sign, walk a short way along the B4070 and turn onto the public footpath, a track heading east into the valley. Follow the Trust's red arrows along the track towards Longridge Wood, then take the footpath down towards Slad Brook and climb the steep slope beyond, the hardest pull of the walk, to Slad Slope and the edge of Snows Farm Nature Reserve.

  2. A rounded wooded hill over green pasture and scrub in a deep valley

    Step 2: Through Catswood

    Turn south on the footpaths past Snows Farm, cross the Dillay Brook and follow the path west through Catswood. A short byway and a farm track bring you out on Catswood Lane.

  3. A child stroking black and white cattle resting on a grassy hilltop above a wooded green valley

    Step 3: Elcombe and Swift's Hill

    Walk down Catswood Lane, take the footpath to Elcombe and join Knapp Lane. Leave the lane on the footpaths over Swift's Hill, the Wildlife Trust's grassland reserve, and come back down to Knapp Lane by Knapp Farm.

  4. A tall stone cross on a grassy bank beside the road, with a narrow lane leaving under dense summer trees

    Step 4: Down to Slad Brook

    Take the restricted byway north-west past Furners Farm and follow it down into the valley to cross Slad Brook. A lane climbs to the B4070 at the north end of Slad, by a memorial. The Woolpack is about 400m down the road to the left.

  5. A bridleway covered in fallen leaves through a bare wood

    Step 5: Up through The Frith

    Cross the B4070 with care and climb the public bridleway north through the woods of The Frith back to Bulls Cross. The Trust says the paths here cross the slope diagonally, with gradients of up to 10% in places.

Sights on the way

The sights this walk passes, numbered as on the map.

  1. A rounded wooded hill over green pasture and scrub in a deep valley

    Snows Farm Nature Reserve

    Sight · Nature reserve · Stroud and the Five Valleys

    Snows Farm is a Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust reserve of 21 hectares at the head of the Slad valley: old limestone grassland, ancient beech wood and the Dillay Brook, with more than 300 kinds of plant, grazed by cattle and Dartmoor ponies, on the Laurie Lee Wildlife Way.

  2. A view from the grassy top of Swift's Hill over a green, wooded valley under a blue sky

    Swift's Hill

    Sight · Nature reserve · Stroud and the Five Valleys

    Swift's Hill is a Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust reserve of 10 hectares of steep limestone grassland above the Slad valley, an SSSI with more than 130 kinds of wildflower, 13 orchids and 29 butterflies, on a hill that appears in Laurie Lee's Cider with Rosie.

  3. A path through a green beech wood in summer

    Frith Wood

    Sight · Wood · Stroud and the Five Valleys

    Frith Wood is an ancient beech wood of 24 hectares on the ridge between the Painswick and Slad valleys, a Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust reserve and SSSI recorded as beech woodland for over 1,000 years, with bluebells, wild garlic and woodruff in spring.

The walk in detail

The Laurie Lee Wildlife Way is a 5-mile (8.4km) circular walk round the Slad valley from Bulls Cross, on the B4070 between Painswick and Stroud, past ten posts carrying Laurie Lee's poems. It is moderate but steep in places, with about 330m of climbing, takes three to five hours with stops, and passes near the Woolpack.

Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust created it in 2013 to show the landscape of Cider with Rosie, and it links the Trust's nature reserves in the valley. AllTrails puts the walking time alone at two and a half to three hours.

The reserves and the poetry posts

The walk is a string of reserves. Longridge Wood comes first, then Snows Farm Nature Reserve on the far side of the valley. Catswood is ancient woodland of ash, beech and hazel. Laurie Lee Wood, on Knapp Lane at Elcombe, is ancient woodland the Trust says dates back beyond 1600, and a rare snail, Lauria sempronii, lives in a stone wall there. Swift's Hill, past the halfway point, is limestone grassland where the Trust records 13 species of orchid, autumn lady's tresses among them. The walk ends through Frith Wood.

On the unimproved grassland of the slopes the Trust lists harebells, thyme and yarrow, and in the woods bluebells in spring and the turning beech leaves in autumn. The ten poetry posts are wooden, each with lines from Lee's work. The Trust names one, Home From Abroad, by Slad Slope, and another, Landscape, at a viewpoint.

A steep grassy valley side below autumn woods under a deep blue sky
The Slad valley Photo: don cload, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Slad and Laurie Lee

The Trust says the name Slad is thought to come from an old Saxon word for a damp valley, and that Laurie Lee is buried between the village's small church and the Woolpack. The route crosses the B4070 at the north end of the village. The pub and the churchyard are a detour of about 400m down the road. Our piece on famous Cotswold people has more on Lee and the valley.

Food and drink

The Woolpack at Slad, which CAMRA describes as Laurie Lee's local, calls itself a tiny, dog-friendly pub. It has vine-covered terraces, and the Trust suggests it for lunch or a drink. When we checked its website in October 2026, the bar opened daily from noon and the dining room served lunch and dinner Tuesday to Sunday, with no food listed on Mondays. Walkers on AllTrails took the detour to it in January and June 2026. There is nothing else to eat on the route, so bring water and a snack. Our guide to Cotswold pubs covers the Woolpack and its beer.

Painswick, about a mile west of Bulls Cross by road, has more choice: the Falcon Inn on New Street has rooms, and our page on places to stay in Painswick has the rest.

What walkers report

Walkers on AllTrails in March and July 2026 found the climbs come at the beginning, the middle and the end, and the Trust singles out a steep climb of about 100m soon after the path drops towards Slad Brook. The Trust warns that the paths are uneven and muddy in wet weather and that the route is not suitable for wheelchairs. Good boots are worth it.

The Trust grazes rare-breed cattle on the slopes, on Swift's Hill from April to October, and walkers on AllTrails met a field full of cows in May 2026. The Trust asks for dogs on a lead on its reserves. On Snows Farm the footpath crosses a stile in front of the farmhouse. When the Trust walked the route in 2020, ash dieback had forced a diversion early on, so the path on the ground may differ from the leaflet map. Follow the red arrows and any signs, and carry the map.

Getting there

Park in the free layby on the B4070 opposite the Bulls Cross sign, where Yokehouse Lane meets the road; the Trust says cars are left at the owner's risk. There are a few more spaces in laybys on Knapp Lane, in the middle of the walk. The walk starts with a short stretch along the road, and later uses Catswood Lane and Knapp Lane, both quiet, and crosses the B4070 at Slad. The Trust sells a leaflet of the trail, illustrated by the local artist Andy Lovell.

More walks nearby

Over the ridge to the west, the walk from Painswick to Painswick Beacon climbs to an Iron Age hillfort, and the Painswick Stream follows the mill stream below the town. The Cotswold Way passes through Painswick, about a mile west of Bulls Cross, and runs south along the edge to Haresfield Beacon. Our guide to Stroud and the Five Valleys has the wider picture.

Stay near the start

Inns, cottages and hotels within a short drive of where the walk begins, so you can set off early.

Where to stay in Painswick
  • Long sitting room with deep sofas, antlers above the fireplace and tall windows

    The Painswick

    Hotel · Painswick

    A 16-room hotel in a Palladian house on Kemps Lane, Painswick, part of the Calcot Collection, with an AA Rosette restaurant and dogs in some rooms.

    Dog-friendly · Wedding venues

    Verified Nov 2026

  • Small stone cottage with glass doors opening onto a lawn and garden

    Cotswold Lodge

    Self-catering · Painswick

    A one-bedroom lodge on Stamages Lane, Painswick, for two adults and up to two young children, with a deck over the valley and free parking.

    Verified Oct 2026

  • A bright sitting room with blue sofas and a dining table by the window

    Barn Cottage, Painswick

    Self-catering · Painswick

    A three-bedroom barn conversion in Painswick, sleeping six in en suite rooms, with off-road parking, an enclosed courtyard and dogs welcome.

    Dog-friendly

    Verified Nov 2026

Questions about The Laurie Lee Wildlife Way

How long is the Laurie Lee Wildlife Way, and how long does it take?

The Laurie Lee Wildlife Way is about 5 miles (8.4km) with roughly 330m of climbing. Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust gives three to five hours for the whole walk, and AllTrails puts the walking time alone at two and a half to three hours.

Where does the Laurie Lee Wildlife Way start, and where do you park?

The Laurie Lee Wildlife Way starts at Bulls Cross on the B4070 between Painswick and Slad. Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust suggests the layby opposite the Bulls Cross sign, and says parking there is free.

How many poetry posts are there?

Ten wooden poetry posts stand along the Laurie Lee Wildlife Way, each with lines from Laurie Lee's work, according to Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust.

Is there a pub on the Laurie Lee Wildlife Way?

Yes, just off it. The Woolpack in Slad, which CAMRA describes as Laurie Lee's local, is about 400m off the Laurie Lee Wildlife Way where it crosses the B4070. Its website lists food Tuesday to Sunday and the bar only on Mondays. There is nothing else to eat on the route.

Can you walk the Laurie Lee Wildlife Way with a dog?

Yes. Dogs can come on the Laurie Lee Wildlife Way, but the Wildlife Trust asks for them on a lead on its reserves, where it grazes rare-breed cattle; walkers met a field full of cows in May 2026. The Woolpack calls itself a dog-friendly pub.

Is the Laurie Lee Wildlife Way steep?

Yes, in places. The Laurie Lee Wildlife Way climbs at the beginning, the middle and the end, with one steep climb of about 100m soon after the path drops towards Slad Brook, and the Trust warns the paths are uneven and muddy in wet weather.

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